Jean Michel (JM) Montsion

Associate Professor

Canadian Studies

   166 York Hall
   montsion@yorku.ca

JM's research focuses on ethnic, urban and mobility questions as they arise in Canada's relations with various Asian societies and communities. From an everyday life perspective, he examines the impact of port and airport infrastructure projects in Canadian gateway cities like Vancouver on local communities; he documents First Nations' diplomatic efforts in China, and he analyses the migration experiences of Chinese students to Canadian universities, notably as they pertain to their racialization in various Canadian communities. He is also interested in ethnic and community politics of Singapore and utilizes Southeast Asia in a comparison to Canadian cases and realities.

JM is the Director of the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies (1 July 2021 to 30 June 2026). He is on sabbatical leave from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025

  • Ethnicity and racialization
  • Canadian cities and gateways
  • Community politics and engagement, including volunteering
  • Post-secondary education and international students
  • Migration and mobility
  • Emotional landscapes
  • Canada, Southeast Asia, Canada-Asia
  • International Canadian Studies
  • Transport investment and democratic process

Doctorate:
Political Science (McMaster University)
Masters:
Political Science (Ottawa University)

  • Chinese Immigration and Community Politics in Singapore and Vancouver
  • Ethnic and Racial Landscapes in Singapore and Vancouver
  • Canadian Gateway Cities and the International Political Economy
  • Indigenous Diplomacies and Canada-Asia Relations
  • International Students, Racialisation and Canadian Universities
  • Emotional landscapes and colonialism
  • Urban democracy and transport infrastructure projects
  • Representations of Canada and Canadian Studies abroad
Books

Journal Articles

  • JM Montsion. 2024. Le statut des étudiantes et étudiants internationaux dans les établissements d’enseignement supérieur canadiens : paramètres, limites et problèmes d’équité. Relais : La revue de vulgarisation scientifique sur la réussite en enseignement supérieur Actes de colloque,10. https://oresquebec.ca/relais/le-statut-des-etudiantes-et-etudiants-internationaux-dans-les-etablissements-denseignement-superieur-canadiens-parametres-limites-et-problemes-dequite/ 
  • K Elsibai, JM Montsion, C De Fuentes, PV Hall & D Brunelle. 2023. Economic Development and Canada’s Gateways: A Tale of Two Regional Development Agencies. Canadian Journal of Regional Science 46(3): 29-36
  • JM Montsion, J Ye & J Kwan. 2023. Moving Beyond Survivalism? Youth Perspectives on non-Mandarin Chinese Languages in the Study of Chinese Voluntary Associations in Singapore and Vancouver. Asia Pacific Viewpoint 64(3): 317-328.
  • J Ye, J Kwan & JM Montsion. 2022. Metrolingual Multitasking and Differential Inclusion: Singapore’s Chinese Languages in Shared Spaces. Urban Studies 59(16): 3442-3458.
  • F Garon, JM Montsion & A Pyée. 2022. Toronto’s Francophone Voluntary Sector Under Pressure: The Challenges of Immigrant Integration in a Linguistic Minority Context. Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research 13(1): 44-63.
  • D Brunelle, PV Hall, C De Fuentes, JM Montsion. 2021. Global Value Chains and Regimes of Urban Governance: A Comparison of Four Canadian Gateway Cities. Canadian Journal of Urban Research 30(1): 1-15.
  • JM Montsion. 2020. Making Sense of One’s Feelings: The Emotional Labour of Chinese International Students in Canadian Universities. Migration, Mobility and Displacement 5(1): 3-19. Sommaire
  • D Bousfield, HL Johnson, JM Montsion. 2019. Racialized Hearts and Minds: Emotional Labour and Affective Leadership in the Teaching/Learning of IR. International Studies Perspectives 20(2): 170-87Sommaire
  • JM Montsion. 2018. Ethnography and International Relations: Situating Recent Trends, Debates and Limitations from an Interdisciplinary Perspective. The Journal of Chinese Sociology 5(9): 1-21. Sommaire
  • JM Montsion, A Parasram. 2018. The Little Nyonya and Singapore’s National Self: Reflections on Aesthetics, Ethnicity and Postcolonial State Formation. Postcolonial Studies 21(2): 154-71. Sommaire
  • JM Montsion. 2018. Resource Centre or Experience Desk? Producing Spaces for Delivering Services to Indigenous and International Students at Universities in Ontario, Canada. Canadian Journal of Higher Education 48(1): 132-47.Sommaire
  • JM Montsion. 2016. "Diplomacy as Self-Representation: British Columbia First Nations and China", The Hague Journal of Diplomacy 11(4): 404-25. Sommaire
  • JM Montsion, SK Tan. 2016. "Smell this: Singapore's Curry Day and Visceral Citizenship", Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography 37(2): 209-23. Sommaire
  • JM Montsion. 2015. "Disrupting Canadian Sovereignty? The 'First Nations & China' Strategy Revisited", Geoforum 58: 114-21.  Sommaire  
  • JM Montsion. 2015. "Patrolling Chineseness: Singapore's Kowloon Club and the Ethnic Adaptation of Hong Kongese to Singaporean Society", Asian Ethnicity 16(1): 92-109. Ré-imprimé dans Chih-yu Shih (ed). 2016. Re-producing Chineseness in Southeast Asia: Scholarship and Identity in Comparative Perspectives, New York: Routledge.  Sommaire  
  • JM Montsion. 2015. "Churchill, Manitoba and the Arctic Gateway: A Historical Contextualization", The Canadian Geographer 59(3): 304-16   Sommaire  
  • JM Montsion. 2014. "Chinese Ethnicities in Neoliberal Singapore? State Designs and Dialect(ical) Struggles of Community Associations", Ethnic and Racial Studies 37(9): 1486-504.  Sommaire  
  • W Vrasti, JM Montsion. 2014. "No Good Deed Goes Unrewarded: The Values/Virtues of Transnational Volunteerism in Neoliberal Capital", Global Society 28(3): 336-55. Ré-imprimé dans Anne-Marie D'Aoust (ed). 2015. Affective Economies, Neoliberalism, and Governmentality, New York: Routledge.  Sommaire  
  • D Bousfield, JM Montsion. 2012. “Transforming an International Organization? Norm Confusion and the International Olympic Committee”, Sport in Society 15(6): 823-38. Ré-imprimé dans Ramon Spaaj and Cindy Burleson (eds). 2013. The Olympic Movement and the Sport of Peacekeeping, New York: Routledge.  Sommaire  
  • JM Montsion. 2012. “When Talent Meets Mobility: Un/desirability in Singapore’s New Citizenship Project”, Citizenship Studies 16(3-4): 469-82.  Sommaire  
  • JM Montsion. 2012. “A Critique of Everyday International Relations: The Case of Cultural Pluralism in Singapore and Vancouver”, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 30(5): 930-46.  Sommaire
  • JM Montsion. 2011. “Softening Canada’s Gateway to the Asia Pacific? Community Perspectives on Vancouver’s International Visage”, Canadian Journal of Urban Research 20(2): 36-55.  Sommaire  
  • JM Montsion. 2010. “Research Im/possibilities: Reflections from Everyday International Relations”, Altérités 7(2): 79-94.  Plein texte (PDF)  
  • JM Montsion. 2009. “Re-locating Politics at the Gateway: Everyday Life in Singapore’s Global Schoolhouse”, Pacific Affairs 82(4): 637-56  Sommaire  
  • JM Montsion, R Stubbs. 2007. “Le pouvoir des plus faibles: L’ANASE et le projet de coopération régionale en Asie de l’Est”, Études internationales 38(2): 167-88.  Plein texte (HTML)  
Book Chapters

  • AH Kim, E Buckner & JM Montsion. 2024. The Federalization of Education Migration: Redefining Success. In AH Kim, E Buckner & JM Montsion (eds). International Students from Asia in Canadian Universities: Institutional Challenges at the Intersection of Internationalization, Inclusion and Racialization, pp. 1-14. New York: Routledge.
  • JM Montsion & D Caneo. 2024. Framing International Students from Asia in Ontario Universities: Provincial Priorities, Deficit-focused Services, and Economic BenefitsIn AH Kim, E Buckner & JM Montsion (eds). International Students from Asia in Canadian Universities: Institutional Challenges at the Intersection of Internationalization, Inclusion and Racialization, pp. 44-56. New York: Routledge. 
  • JM Montsion, AH Kim & E Buckner. 2024. Building on Success from the Bottom-up? Institutional Challenges, Racialized Experiences and Opportunities for Further Research. In AH Kim, E Buckner & JM Montsion (eds). International Students from Asia in Canadian Universities: Institutional Challenges at the Intersection of Internationalization, Inclusion and Racialization, pp. 243-253. New York: Routledge.
  • G Pang & JM Montsion. 2023. Chinese International Students at Two Canadian Universities: Learning from their Emotional Labor to Re-Align Support Services. In J Boyd & M Mohamad (eds). International Student Support and Engagement in Higher Education: Exploring Innovative Practices in Campus, Academic and Professional Support Services, pp. 175-187. New York: Routledge.
  • JM Montsion. 2022. A Historical Perspective on the Straits of Melaka: Transport, Trade and the Layering of Colonialisms. In M Williams (ed). The Politics of the Asia-Pacific: Triumphs, Challenges, and Threats, pp. 46-58. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
  • JM Montsion. 2019. Adapting to China’s Students at the Gateway: Stories from Chinese Community Associations and their New Student Members. In Kim, A., Kwak, M.J. (eds). Outward and Upward Mobilities in Canada: International Students, their Families and Structuring Institutions, pp. 139-58. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 
  • JM Montsion. 2019. Singapore’s Quest for Foreign Talent, Chinese Migrant Workers and the Growing Citizen-Foreigner Divide. In Tyson, A. (ed). The Political Economy of Brain Drain and Talent Capture: Evidence from Malaysia and Singaporepp. 36-58. New York: Routledge.
  • J Loder, JM Montsion, R Stubbs. 2011. “Comparing East Asian and European Union Regionalism” in Robinson, N., Rosamond, B. and Warleigh-Lack, A. (eds). New Regionalism and the European Union: Dialogues, Comparisons and New Research Directions, pp. 80-96. New York: Routledge.
  • JM Montsion. 2008. (Mis)Conceptualizing Labour Repression in Southeast Asian Societies: Manifesting (Im)Possibilities Through Social Rhythms. In JM Montsion and S Sabra (eds). Global Tensions, Global Possibilities: Everyday Forces of Conformity and Contestation, Working Paper Series 8(2), Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition: 137-143
Other Publications

Non-Refereed Articles and Reports

  • C Podruchny, JM Montsion & G Slowey. 2024. Remembering the Robarts Centre: A Training Ground, an Academic and Cultural Incubator, and a Home. Canada Watch. Fall 2024 Issue. Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies.
  • JM Montsion. 2024. The Robarts Centre Today and Tomorrow: From the Quest for Self-Knowledge to an Ethics of Care. 40th Anniversary Special Issue. Canada Watch. Spring 2024 Issue. Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies.
  • AH Kim, E Buckner & JM Montsion. 2022. Introduction to Special Issue: International Students from Asia in Canada’s Post-secondary Institutions: Disconnections and Connections. Comparative and International Education 51(1): 6pp.
  • S Shahrokni, MO Magnan & JM Montsion. 2022. Pour une étude critique des inégalités de traitement vécues par les « étudiant.e.s en provenance d’Asie » et des écueils des institutions d’enseignement supérieur canadiennes les accueillant. Special issue conclusion. Éducation comparée et internationale 51(1) : 126-130.
  • JM Montsion. 2020. Research Highlights: Making Sense of One’s Feelings: The Emotional Labour of Chinese International Students in Canadian Universities. August 2020 Newsletter. Network for Research into Chinese Education Mobilities.
  • JM Montsion. 2019. Innovation Corridors and the Golden Horseshoe: Transportation Challenges and the Emergence of a Shared Regional Vision. Proceedings of the 54th Annual Conference, Canadian Transportation Research Forum: 435-443.
  • JM Montsion, C Gabel. 2015. Indigenous and International Education in Ontario Universities, with C Gabel. Report submitted to the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities, Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund.
  • JM Montsion. 2015. From Ethnic Tensions to a Citizen/Foreigner Divide in Singapore. Report submitted to the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Canada-Asia Agenda.
  • JM Montsion. 2008. Virtual and Not-So-Virtual Issues of Security, Consortium of Non-Traditional Security, Rajaratnam School of International Studies. 
  • JM Montsion. 2008. Human Capital and Canada’s Gateway to Asia Pacific: The Case of the Association of Chinese Canadian Professionals in Vancouver, Affinity Newsletter 3(2), Association of Chinese Canadian Professionals.

Edited Special Issues and Collections

  • AH Kim, E Buckner & JM Montsion (eds). 2022. International Students from Asia in Canada’s Post-Secondary Institutions: Disconnections and Connections. Special issue of Comparative and International Education 51(1): 9 articles
  • JM Montsion (ed). 2020. Supporting Indigenous Language Preservation and Revitalization in Canada. Canada Watch, Summer, Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies: articles.
  •  J Parish and JM Montsion (eds). 2018. Geographies of Care and Emotional Labour. Palgrave Communications. Special collection: 6 articles
  • JM Montsion and S Sabra (eds). 2008. Global Tensions, Global Possibilities: Everyday Forces of Conformity and Contestation. Working Paper Series 8(2), Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition: 22 articles.

Book Reviews

  • JM Montsion. 2021. Invited review of Identity and Social Networks: A Case of Chinese Graduate Students in the United States, by Cynthia Baiqing Zhang, Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews 50(1): 96-97.

  • JM Montsion. 2020. Review of Le Canada: une culture de métissage / Transcultural Canadaby Paul D. Morris (ed), The Canadian Geographer 64(2): e15-e16.

  • JM Montsion. 2017. Compte-rendu de “Emotions, Community, and Citizenship: Cross-disciplinary Perspectives." Emotion, Space and Society 24(1): 42-43.


  • York University's President University-Wide Teaching Award (2015)
  • Senior Fellow, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (2017)
  • York Research Leader (2017)
  • Distinguished Fellow, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (2018-23)
  • Principal’s Research Excellence Award, Glendon College, York University (2018)
  • 2011. Principal investigator. Framing Canada's Arctic Gateway: Reflections from Churchill, Iqaluit and Winnipeg (Grant of $5,000). Part of a SSHRC ASU Grant at the University of Winnipeg.
  • 2013-14. Principal investigator. Indigenous and International Education in Ontario Universities (MTCU/OHCRIF Grant of $15,913 & Glendon internal funding of $2,000). Co-investigator: Chelsea Gabel, McMaster University.
  • 2015. Principal investigator. From Ethnic Tensions to a Citizen/Foreigner Divide in Singapore (Canada-Asia Agenda/APF Canada Grant of $1,000).
  • 9 February 2016. Co-organizer. Colloquium on the Language Policy Implications of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Responsibilities of Post-Secondary Education Institutions (Multiple funding sources: $3,500). Co-organizers: Ian Martin, Maya Chacaby and Amos Key Jr.
  • 2017-2021. Co-applicant. Free Trade, Governance and Municipal Democracy. Comparative Study of Four Canadian Cities: Halifax, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver (SSHRC Insight Grant of $184,000). Principal investigator: Dorval Brunelle, UQÀM. Co-applicants: Claudia De Fuentes, SMU; Peter Hall, SFU.
  • 2018-2019. Co-applicant. Francophone Newcomers and Social Integration to Toronto: On the Use of Volunteering and Other Forms of Work Experience (Glendon Research Fund Grant of $2,500). Co-applicants: Francis Garon, Glendon; Audrey Pyée, Glendon.
  • 2019. Co-applicant. Language, Identity and Heritage Preservation in Global Chinese Communities (National Geographic Exploration grant with support from Asia Pacific Foundation (APF) of Canada for a total of $50,090). Co-applicants: Erin Williams, APF Canada; Justin Kwan, APF Canada; Junjia Ye, Nanyang Technological University.
  • 2019-2023. Principal investigator. Asian International Students to Canadian Universities: Examining the Racialization of Chinese, Korean and Indian Students in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver (SSHRC Insight Grant of $285,882). Co-applicants and collaborators: Elizabeth Buckner (OISE), Elic Chan (UBC), Soma Chatterjee (York), Ann Kim (York), Marie-Odile Magnan (UdeM), Ajay Parasram (Dal), Shirin Shahrokni (York), Lori Wilkinson (UManitoba).
  • 2021. Co-applicant. ARC: Adaptation, Resilience and Change in the North. 2021 ACUNS/AECUN Student Conference (SSHRC Connection Grant of $13,250). Principal investigator: Laura McKinnon, Glendon. Co-applicant: Gabrielle Slowey, York. 
  • 2022-2025. Principal investigator. (Re)Searching for Canadian Studies (SSHRC Partnership Development Grant of $183,719).With support from the Art Canada Institute, the International Council for Canadian Studies, the Centre for Canadian Studies at Mount Allison University, the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies at Trent University, the Université de Saint-Boniface, and the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies and Glendon College at York University.
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